Page 86 of The Bratva's Beast

Well, I would if I could move. I felt like I had anchors tied around my ankles right now. "Hanna." My body jerked from Arseny grabbing my shoulders. "You need to calm down, breathe."

Why did he sound so distant?

Why am I feeling so disconnected?

Why is everything fading?

My chest hurts, why?

Is there a leak? Why is there raindrops?

Ouch!

"Hanna, come back, it's okay, breathe, just come back to us, just breathe."

The voice sounded so distant, and maybe it wasn't even real.

"Hanna, in, hold, and out. In, hold, and out." The instructions repeated God knows how many times, and I wanted to tell Angel to shut up. I was tempted not to listen, but my body seemed to follow her on its own accord because I barely registered the rhythmic rising and falling of my chest as it happened.

My head spun as the oxygen fully flooded it again, as if I had gotten out of bed too fast. Then I noticed the cold chill on my cheeks only when my senses returned fully. Numbingly, I reached up and brushed my fingers along my cheek, picking up the trail of tears that streamed from my aching eyes.

"Close your eyes for a bit Hanna, it's okay, it'll be okay." Angel continued to shush and soothe me, her fingers running through my locks.

"No, I want to see Daddy." I whimpered with a sob.

"Stepan will still be here after you wake." Angel assured me, tightening her arms around me as she slowed her rocking.

Vehemently, I shook my head in defiance and tried to push Angel away, but she held firm. "It's not going to do you any good to exhaust yourself like this Hanna. It won't be healthy for you either if you keep going into panic attacks in the meantime. We can't keep on dosing you like this."

She gave an exasperated sigh and paused for a moment before continuing. "How about this, if I promise to put you next to Stepan when he's out of the OR then will you rest?" She bargained with me in a very sweet tone.

Huffing, I gnawed at my bottom lip stubbornly for a moment before reluctantly nodding.

As if I had any choice.

I could feel my body crashing, badly.

He needed to live, he can't die, he's not allowed to, not until I tell him.

Fuck, I never told him.

Chapter 44

Hanna

I wouldn't even be mad at myself if this massive headache was from a hangover after a fun night out, but no.

"Fucking hell..." I groaned groggily as I forced my eyes to blink open.

Groaning out a whine, I buried myself into the familiar warmth next to me with an unconscious smile that lasted all about a second before reality crashed into me like a wrecking ball to a glass building.

Startling up into a sitting position, I frantically ran my eyes over Stepan, who remained dead asleep with a tube in his mouth, wires to his body, and an IV line in his hand.

"Hey, careful, you don't want to knock anything loose." My head snapped over to the voice, relaxing a little when I saw it was Angel.

Frowning, I settled my hand against his chest, feeling it rise and fall in a slow, steady rhythm. "Why does he look like that still? Why is there a tube in him? Why isn't he awake?" The questions flew out of my mouth before I could control them.

"He had quite a bit of damage to his lungs from the broken ribs puncturing them, he broke seven ribs, Hanna. And then, the bullet that traveled through his abdomen into his chest cavity caught some of his lungs as well, so the tube is to help him breathe for now. We're keeping him sedated for comfort and for him to recover easier. He'll be out for a while I'm afraid. He has some head injuries to from the bruises and bumps we found on his head when we examined him, but we won't know the extent of the damage until he wakes up." Angel gave me a quick rundown while I sat there like a sad child holding Stepan's free hand.